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Saturday, February 23, 2008

Crunchy Sesame Cookies...

We are decidedly lovers of peanut butter - we use it in savory dishes often, but baked good is where the money is. We've made quite a few cookies using it... I've even gone so far to sacrifice one of Jeff's coveted boxes of Cap'n Crunch Peanut Butter cereal for batch once! However, when I was looking for a cookie to bake for us to munch on this weekend, I wanted something with a similar profile, yet different.

In came these Crunchy Sesame Cookies to satisfy our sweet tooth. Lots of cookies use shortening or butter, but not these exquisite rounds - the fat requirement is fulfilled from the use of tahini (sesame-seed butter) and pungent toasted sesame oil. This duo of sesame brings an enticing nutty flavor with a hypnotizing rich aroma.

Aiding in their crisp texture is the addition of cornstarch and Lyle's Golden Syrup - if you don't have the latter, you could substitute with light corn syrup. The dough was soft, but not sticky at all - once we divided it out and rolled the pieces into balls, they are swirled in a bowl of granulated sugar. They do need a little head start, so be sure to flatten them slightly with your palm or the flat bottom of a glass before they go into the oven. You want to bake them until their surface on top cracks and the edges are turning golden. With a sparkle from the sugary coating, these cookies are fairly crisp and crunchy, but don't take that as hard and dry - the cup of brown sugar adds enough moisture so they have a nice snap to them. No, they don't taste exactly like peanut butter cookies, but we both agree that these would be a notable substitute for those who may be allergic to peanuts or just love sesame like us!

4 comments:

How in the world you would find and think of such a great recipe is terrific in itself! Your photo is reach out and grabbable and I love the idea if sesame for cookies! This is definitely a must try and thank you for your comment on my chocolate peanut butter trifle. I used cheaters like the box cake but the dessert surprised me in flavor! Your cookies are phenomenal and I am printing them out ASAP =DShandy@Pastry Heaven